The First Correction Is the Package
New York and San Antonio made two separate transactions on June 3, 1975. Basketball-Reference's ABA league ledger lists them independently: the Nets sold Mike Gale to San Antonio for cash, and in a second move the Nets traded Larry Kenon to the Spurs for Swen Nater. Roy Boe's Nets executive record and John Begzos' Spurs record repeat the same separation. The legacy this review record had pulled cash into the Kenon-Nater exchange, creating a false three-asset package. That cash item is removed from this trade and remains attributable only to the separate Mike Gale transaction that follows in the chronology.
Kenon Became a Long-Term San Antonio Star
Kenon was already an ABA All-Star with New York before the trade, but San Antonio received the prime of his career. Contemporary Spurs history summarizes his five-season run at roughly 20.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He made three All-Star teams during that span and became one of the franchise's core scorers and rebounders alongside George Gervin. The transaction therefore produced exactly the kind of durable high-end return that retrospective grading should reward: immediate performance, multiple seasons of continuity and major-team relevance.
The Spurs' Competitive Window Benefited Directly
Kenon's value was not isolated to box-score accumulation. He remained part of San Antonio through the franchise's transition from the ABA into the NBA and helped the Spurs reach the 1979 Eastern Conference finals, where they came within one game of the NBA Finals. That does not make every team success his alone, but it confirms that the trade acquired a player who remained central throughout one of the franchise's earliest strong NBA periods. The fact that he stayed for five seasons also eliminates the attribution problems that often appear in short rental trades.
Nater Was Useful but Short-Lived in New York
The Nets did receive a real player. Nater appeared in 43 games for New York in 1975-76 and averaged 8.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in 23.6 minutes. His per-36 rebounding rate was 15.6, so the move clearly gave the Nets a strong glass presence. The limitation was duration. On January 27, 1976, New York traded Nater and Billy Schaeffer to the Virginia Squires for Jim Eakins. Nater therefore did not remain through the entire Nets title run and did not create a long direct tenure comparable to Kenon's in San Antonio.
The Eakins Return Adds Some Nets Value
Jim Eakins played 34 regular-season games for the Nets after the January trade and was on the roster that won the 1976 ABA championship. Because Billy Schaeffer was bundled with Nater, Eakins cannot be credited entirely to the original Kenon trade, just as multi-asset downstream deals elsewhere in the archive are not assigned to one component. The branch still matters: New York extracted some continuing value from Nater rather than losing him for nothing. It is not enough to close the enormous gap created by Kenon's five seasons of star production.
Final Verdict
Spurs Win, A+/B-. San Antonio receives an A+ because Kenon became a five-season franchise pillar, averaged approximately 20 points and 10 rebounds, made three All-Star teams and helped anchor a contender through the ABA-to-NBA transition. New York receives a B- because Nater provided 43 strong rebounding games and then contributed to the package that brought back Eakins, but the tenure was short and the downstream return required another player. The cash error is removed because authoritative transaction ledgers place that payment in the separate Mike Gale sale. Confidence is high on the June 3 date, straight player-for-player structure and realized outcomes. The verdict reflects only verified transaction terms and realized team value.